Criminal Procedure – Miranda warnings – custody

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Criminal

Criminal Procedure — Miranda warnings — custody

Where a defendant was believed he would be free to leave questioning to attend a parent-teacher conference later, he was not in custody.

“We note that the most probative factor for the district court in determining that there was not a custodial interrogation were statements by Ambrose throughout the day indicating that he was concerned about getting to his son’s parent-teacher conference on time that night. In contemplating the time that he would depart, those statements reflect Ambrose’s state of mind and indicate that he did not believe he was under arrest. A person’s subjective state of mind however, is not relevant in determining whether he or she is in custody for Miranda purposes. If used at all, those statements would have to be used to indicate the atmosphere and how that would impact a reasonable person’s perception.”

“The statements were made in the third stage of interviews, when Ambrose was with the case agents. Ambrose asked how long the interview would take because he needed to attend a parent-teacher conference that night. The agents responded that they were not sure how long it would take to go through the questioning. Ambrose’s statement is evidence that the atmosphere was not intimidating, and the agent’s response is relevant to determining whether a reasonable person would feel free to leave. The agent did not dismiss his concern by stating that he was not going home, but rather considered the length of time that the questioning might take. That would further lead a reasonable person to think that he was free to leave. Ambrose called his wife twice in regard to that conference, and also called Hansen during an interview to ask him a question. That further indicates a level of freedom inconsistent with a custodial situation. Those factors, although occurring later in the day, are relevant in assessing the overall atmosphere at the time of the three interviews.”

Affirmed.

09-3832 U.S. v. Ambrose

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Grady, J., Rovner, J.